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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Rangeley (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Rangeley. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Rangeley is located in Franklin County.

To see how the shape of Maine's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Franklin County: Androscoggin, Kennebec, Oxford & Somerset.

Below are the counties that are near Rangeley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rangeley:

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Rangeley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
    • Dallas Plantation
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dallas Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas Plantation
      • Dallas Plantation is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
    • Mountainview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountainview
      • Mountainview is located in Franklin County
    • Sandy River Plantation
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy River Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River Plantation
      • Sandy River Plantation is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Oquossoc
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oquossoc have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oquossoc
      • Oquossoc is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oquossoc <2>
    • Bemis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
      • Bemis is located in Franklin County
    • Davis Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davis Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Town
      • Davis Town is located in Franklin County
    • Coplin Plantation
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coplin Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coplin Plantation
      • Coplin Plantation is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
    • Madrid
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eustis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Stratton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
      • Stratton is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratton <2>
    • Bigelow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Franklin County
    • Phillips
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Oxford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
    • Upper Dam
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Dam
      • Upper Dam is located in Oxford County
    • Byron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
      • Byron is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
    • Magalloway Plantation
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magalloway Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magalloway Plantation
      • Magalloway Plantation is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
    • Lincoln Plantation
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Plantation
      • Lincoln Plantation is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Middle Dam
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Dam
      • Middle Dam is located in Oxford County
    • Wilsons Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilsons Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsons Mills
      • Wilsons Mills is located in Oxford County
    • Roxbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Andover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Andover is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andover <2>
    • East Andover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Andover
      • East Andover is located in Oxford County
    • Upton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Upton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
      • Upton is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Upton <2>
    • Mexico
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mexico have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
      • Mexico is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mexico <2>
    • Rumford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
    • New Portland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Highland Plantation
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highland Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Plantation
      • Highland Plantation is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • East New Portland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East New Portland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East New Portland
      • East New Portland is located in Somerset County
  • Coos County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
    • Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy
      • Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy is located in Coos County (NH)
    • Second College Grant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Second College Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Second College Grant
      • Second College Grant is located in Coos County (NH)
    • Errol
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Errol
      • Errol is located in Coos County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 263 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Errol <2>
    • Dixs Grant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixs Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixs Grant
      • Dixs Grant is located in Coos County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1 people
    • Idlewilde
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewilde
      • Idlewilde is located in Coos County (NH)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rangeley, see our County-by-County Page for Rangeley.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rangeley ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rangeley.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rangeley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rangeley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rangeley.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3> of Rangeley.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Rangeley:

Cemeteries Near Rangeley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rangeley.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rangeley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.

  • Rangeley Village Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rangeley Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rangeley Village Cemetery
  • Madrid Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Madrid Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Madrid Cemetery
  • Stockbridge Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stockbridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stockbridge Cemetery
  • Phillips - Maine Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phillips - Maine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phillips - Maine Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Cemetery
  • Eustis Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eustis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eustis Cemetery
  • Flagstaff Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flagstaff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flagstaff Cemetery
  • West Byron Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Byron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Byron Cemetery
  • Robertson Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robertson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robertson Cemetery
  • Avon Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Avon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Avon Cemetery
  • Continue List   (27 more) ...
    • Center Hill Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Hill Cemetery
    • Andover Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Andover Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Andover Cemetery
    • Pineview Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rangeley had a population of 387 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rangeley had a population of 1,151 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.

  • Dead River ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dead River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dead River
    • Dead River is located in Franklin County
  • Bemis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bemis
    • Bemis is located in Franklin County
  • Madrid
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • East Madrid
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Madrid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madrid
    • East Madrid is located in Franklin County
  • Eustis
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Stratton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
    • Stratton is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratton <2>
  • Byron
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
    • Byron is located in Oxford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
  • Phillips
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Middle Dam
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Dam
    • Middle Dam is located in Oxford County
  • Salem
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Salem is located in Franklin County
  • Wilsons Mills
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilsons Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsons Mills
    • Wilsons Mills is located in Oxford County
  • Roxbury
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Weld
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weld
      • Weld is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weld <2>
    • Andover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Andover is located in Oxford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andover <2>
    • Strong
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rangeley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rangeley.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rangeley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rangeley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rangeley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9664, Longitude: -70.6448    
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Rangeley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024